


The Shield in The Shadows

by autumnalis



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Child Neglect, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Love Triangles, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27312724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnalis/pseuds/autumnalis
Summary: Galar is a region chock full of secrets and idosyncrasies of its own. But the last thing Gloria expects to see in Galar is Pokemon spontaneously growing in size and wreaking havoc around town, which is a phenomenon that has recently been come to known as Dynamax. That doesn't change Gloria's plans though - she will someday become a great Pokemon trainer who will bring smiles to the whole world no matter where she is! One way or another, Gloria finds herself setting off on a journey around Galar to become stronger and achieve her dreams, together with her fellow friends Leon and Sonia.But when the hidden history of Galar comes to light and the notorious Team Royal arises and threatens the wellbeing of Pokemon, it becomes even harder for Gloria to keep her own smile on her face. As if it wasn't hard enough on its own already.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Sonia, Kibana | Raihan/Yuuri | Gloria, one-sided Piers | Nezu/Yuuri | Gloria
Kudos: 7





	The Shield in The Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is a prequel to the game's storyline, and i plan to write three parts to this series, consisting of a prequel, retelling of the original and a sequel. it'll be quite different from the original storyline as a disclaimer. i plan to make some character designs for the new characters in this as well as the younger versions of pre-existing characters, but that will have to wait.
> 
> as you can see from the title of the chapters, the story is quite inspired from the tone of the manga. pokemon battles will play quite a big role in the story, but i'm not used to writing action - but i'll try my best. i'll apologize in advance if they don't make sense! i've never written a proper story myself either, so the world-building and the character growth might be all over the place, so please don't expect much~ 
> 
> i'm also not experienced in writing, but i desperately needed a swsh au, so i tried my best. i'll be editing quite a lot if i see small mistakes and i might even rewrite chapter by chapter because i'm not so happy with how the writing. character designs aren't final until i make their concept art, so please bear with me! this will be very jrpg-esque, since i'm a big fan of jrpgs myself.
> 
> for now, i hope you'll enjoy!

_A long time ago, a mysterious entity descended upon Galar,_

_With a steel-like body exuding an odd shine that painted the sky crimson red,_

_Pokemon grew as big as buildings and began running amok, destroying cities and towns,_

_Just as the entirety of Galar was about to be wiped away from the face of the planet, a ray of light shone upon the region,_

_A brave soul guided by the light of the Dragon rose from the ground below, and became the Hero who saved the region._

_That day came to be known as_ **_The Darkest Day_ ** _._

____________________________________________________________________________

The strange wind was picking up, and the trees in the forest were blowing in every direction. The skies were a shade of crimson red, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. A heavy and eerie atmosphere hung in the forest, and there was not a single Pokemon to be seen in sight. Not even the constant buzzing of Blipbugs and Dottlers - which was the norm in every forest in Galar - could be heard. 

The sound of footsteps was carried along the wind, accompanied by the sound of fallen tree branches snapping in half. In between the violently swaying trees were two young teenagers, a boy and a girl.

“Leon!” Sonia called out for her friend, struggling to keep up with his pace. “I’m telling you this is a bad idea!”

“Don’t worry, I’m strong enough to protect the both of us!” Leon reassured her, not bothering to turn his head around, “If you’re so scared, then just head home before me!”

Leon was quite the heroic figure as his manner of speech suggested. His heavy purple locks were stuffed under a black cap, and he wore a red and black tracksuit, with a black shirt embroidered with a Pokeball logo underneath. He also had on a pair of white shorts, together with a pair of black running shoes with several thin yellow lines running vertically down its top.

Sonia, on the other hand, was definitely the more stylish of the two. Scattered all around her ginger hair, that was tied into two low ponytails and left to rest on both shoulders, were heart-shaped hairpins. She donned a cyan dress-blouse with white frills under her baggy beige outerwear, and a white ribbon was tied over the top of her chest. She had on a pair of baby blue tights under her dress-blouse, accompanied by a pair of cyan buckle-up boots.

“You’ve never even faced a Dynamaxed Pokemon before!” Sonia insisted. “And! I am _not_ scared!”

“That’s the spirit!” Leon commended. “Lady’s going to be there too, so we’ll be fine!”

Leon only ran faster. Sonia let out a huge groan of annoyance.

“Ugh! Just how many times does your mum need to tell you not to run headfirst into trouble so it’ll finally get drilled into that thick skull of yours?!” Sonia yelled in exasperation. “You muscleheaded idiot!”

“Sorry, what did you say? The wind’s too strong!”

Suddenly, Leon stopped in his tracks, and Sonia finally managed to catch up. She panted as she tried to catch her breath.

“Finally had an epiphany?!” Sonia asked angrily.

But Leon didn’t respond, and instead he was staring in awe at something that was in front of him. Sonia followed his eyes out of curiosity. Lo and behold, standing in front of the two of them was a brunette girl who was carrying a Scorbunny in her arms. 

The girl was the very definition of simple. Her hair was a dark shade of brown and so was her eyes. She had on a green beret, a pink dress, a grey cardigan, a pair of old boots and a just as old bag that was too big for her dangling on her back. 

For some odd reason, the girl had been staring into the sky, and there was a blank look on her face. Her Scorbunny seemed just as confused as Leon and Sonia were as it eyed its trainer.

Leon took a step forward, “Um, excuse me, it’s dangerous here! You should head back!”

“—Oh, there are people around!”

The girl snapped out of her stupor, and she turned on her heel and faced the two with a big smile on her face. Scorbunny’s long ears perk up at the sight of the two new trainers.

“What’s going on? Everyone suddenly disappeared and the weather looks kinda’ weird…” the girl mumbled as she scoured her surroundings once again.

Sonia put a hand on her hip with a puzzled expression, “Do you not know about it? It’s an alert to a Dynamax Pokemon.”

“Dynamax?” the girl cocked her head sideways, and so did the Scorbunny wrapped under her arms.

“You don’t know that either? It’s—”

However, before she could finish her sentence, Sonia was interrupted when a loud roar erupted from the distance, and the wind started to grow even stronger. The three had to crouch and dig their feet into the ground so as to avoid being blown away.

When they opened their eyes once more, each of them noticed a red cloud gathering around an unfamiliar Skwovet that had grown at least ten times its normal size. The brown-haired girl’s mouth fell in awe.

Leon ran ahead, “I’m heading on first! Go bring her back to town, Sonia!”

“Wait Leon—!” Sonia reached a hand out for the boy, but he was already out of her reach by then. “Ugh, that musclehead…!”

“A giant Pokemon…?!” the girl was taken aback. “I-I’ve never seen that before…!”

“Yeah, it’s dangerous,” Sonia turned back to the girl, appearing somewhat distraught, “Let’s head back to town first. I’ll come back for that idiot later—”

“It’s dangerous but he’s running into it headfirst, we shouldn’t leave him alone then!” the girl insisted, and without another word to spare, she went after Leon.

“Wait, wait, do you guys even know the definition of danger at all?!” Sonia asked, and after letting out a groan, she followed after them.

Leon ended up at a part of the forest without many trees, and Gloria and Sonia eventually caught up with him one after the other. There, they found three trainers facing off against the same Skwovet they saw earlier, but this time it was only a few yards away from them. No matter how far it seemed, its presence was still strong. An Orbeetle was circling the Skwovet, while two Volbeats stayed by the three trainers’ sides.

“Lady!” Leon called, grabbing the attention of the redhead trainer at the centre.

The trainer in question was a girl with long, fuzzy and messy red hair, and a pair of square-framed glasses hung upon her nose. She was in a red and black polka-dotted one-piece adorned over a black turtleneck, which she wore under a white, unbuttoned lab coat.

“Leon!” Lady responded. “And Sonia?! What are you two doing out here?!”

“Oh, Sonia’s still here?” Leon turned his head around briefly to look at Sonia. “Alright, we’re here to help out!”

“I did not agree to this!” Sonia exclaimed. “...But if I’m already here, I guess I’ll have to be useful.”

“Just give up, no one can ever convince Leon when he’s made up his mind,” Lady made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “We’ll take all the help we can. But who would this girl be…?”

“I’m Gloria,” the girl introduced herself. “I can help out too! My Scorbunny is as strong as it is cute!”

“That’s reassuring, but make sure to stay behind me,” Lady gave them a small smile before turning back to the Skwovet in question. “Orbeetle, let’s change things up with a Psybeam!“

The Orbeetle emitted a stream of translucent, psychic waves at the Skwovet, but it winced slightly in pain. Leon sprinted to Lady’s side, while Sonia and Gloria stayed behind her back. 

Lady gave Leon a look of surprise, “Wha—Leon!”

“Go, Charmeleon!” Leon threw his Pokeball to the ground, and out of it a Charmeleon emerged with a mighty roar.

“Ugh, that muscleheaded idiot...!” Sonia grunted again. “Whatever! Let’s do this, Yamper!”

Sonia similarly threw her Pokeball next to Charmeleon, and a Yamper came out of it, appearing as cheerful as always despite the situation at hand.

“You’re up now, Scorbunny!” Gloria glanced at Scorbunny and nodded at it. The Scorbunny raised its hand in affirmation and hopped down to the ground from her arms, and from there it sprinted up to the front lines.

“Do you have any plan in mind, Lady?” Leon asked, side-eyeing Lady next to him.

“...There isn’t anything much you can do against a Pokemon ten times your size,” Lady claimed. “All we can do is dish out enough damage to take it down. That’s why there’s strength in numbers against Dynamax Pokemon.”

“Alright, let’s show this Skwovet a taste of the Flamethrower you just learned then, Charmeleon!” Leon said excitedly as he pulled back a fist to his side.

“Let’s do a follow up after Charmeleon’s Flamethrower, Scorbunny!” Gloria commanded, gesturing towards the Skwovet. “Use Double Kick to make it sore!”

Charmeleon ran up the Skwovet’s side and arrived at its head, and it leapt into the sky to blow flames out of its mouth. The fur was completely charred from the flames, and the Skwovet let out a deafening yelp of pain. As Charmeleon fell back down to Skwovet’s shoulder, Scorbunny landed two devastating kicks back-to-back at the burned fur, causing the Skwovet to flinch and for its yells of pain to grow even louder. 

“Wow, that was one intense flamethrower...” Gloria remarked in awe.

“I’m not letting Leon take all the cool parts for himself!” Sonia declared, and she looked down to the Yamper who was still on the ground. “You’ve charged up enough electricity, right, Yamper? I’ll give you an Oran berry after this, so give it your all!”

“Yam yam!” Yamper barked in delight, and its expression appeared to brighten even further when the words ‘Oran berry’ came out of Sonia’s mouth. It began to frolic around the ground as sparks of electricity started to radiate out of its fur.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” Sonia smiled determinedly. “Go, use spark at the foe!”

Yamper gathered all of its electricity all over its body, and channeled all of it to the entirety of the Dynamaxed Skwovet’s body. The Skwovet winced and shivered from the shock, and its cries become more muffled, but was still as loud as it originally was. Everyone present watched on in amazement. 

“That was amazing!” Gloria praised. “Your Yamper sure is strong despite its small size!”

“My Yamper’s different from the rest, after all.” Sonia grinned proudly as she twirled her hair tied in the ponytail on her right shoulder.

“Oh, but it isn’t because Yamper is particularly strong though,” Lady pointed out with a haughty tone, with her arms crossed against her chest. “Electric Pokemon are quite known to carry quite a considerable amount of volts of electricity with them. Skwovet was unfortunate enough that it was raining prior to Dynamaxing, and water is quite the good conductor of electricity, you see.”

“Lady!” Sonia pouted childishly. “Don’t ruin the magic now, would you!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Gloria said sheepishly. “Your Yamper still really is amazing, though!”

“You’re making me sound even more pitiful now!” Sonia retorted.

“But that means electricity is effective right now against the Skwovet, right?” Leon asked.

“It means that it doesn’t need as much mobility as the other Pokemon,” Lady explained. “But concentrating your attacks on the weakest spot makes the attack a lot more powerful, for sure.”

“Y-Yamper can’t run fast though…” Sonia frowned. 

But before anyone could have another say, the Skwovet had mostly recovered from its pain, and it began to move its arm. Lady gritted her teeth, knowing far too well what was about to come, “It’s attack is coming! Everyone, down!”

“Use Protect, Volbeat!” Both trainers at Lady’s side commanded the two Volbeats.

A frame of light materialized in front of the two Volbeats, which then merged together to form a sphere that enveloped the six trainers. Gloria, Leon and Sonia did as they were told, their faces filled with unease as they had no idea what to expect from a Dynamaxed Pokemon’s attack.

The Skwovet finally unleashed a shockwave from its outreached fist, and that was enough to make part of the barrier break on the Volbeat’s end. The trees behind them were all uprooted from the shockwave. 

Fortunately, the trees that flew their way were promptly deflected by the barrier, but at the end of the attack, the six of them narrowly managed to survive the attack, and the barrier was also cracked on the end where Gloria was closest to, causing her to grow even more nervous.

“W-What an attack…” Gloria commented in awe, and she noticed Scorbunny landing back on the ground outside the barrier, looking just as amazed. “Scorbunny, thank goodness you’re okay!”

The Pokemon outside the barrier had been mobile and quick enough to dodge the attack, and the slow Yamper was thankfully saved by Charmeleon.

“We should probably bring three Volbeats with us next time,” one of the other trainers mused.

“I miscalculated.” Lady admitted. “I would rather have as few Pokemon with us, it’s dangerous out here, after all…” 

“If the barrier fails on us, we might even end up dead…” Sonia exhaled in relief. “We need to get this done quick!”

“Yeah,” Leon agreed. “We should come up with a strategy rather than attack it blindly. There should be a way to increase our damage manifolds.”

“We have Yamper’s electricity, Charmeleon’s pure power, Scorbunny’s super-effective Double Kick, and Orbeetle’s dizzying psychic power…” Lady thought aloud to herself, bringing a hand to her chin. “We can’t afford to attack with the Volbeats, but there should be a way to combine them all into one powerful attack…”

“Wait, I have an idea!” Sonia’s eyes lit up. “If we combine Yamper’s electricity and Orbeetle’s psychic power, we might be able to make it even more dizzy, and enough power afterwards could probably make it pass out from a single attack!” 

“That’s true!” Leon perked up. “As expected of Sonia. I can always depend on you when it comes to the brain stuff!”

“I told you you’d be useless without me,” Sonia smiled proudly.

“Oh sheesh, I’m really falling behind now, aren’t I…” Lady huffed, shaking her head in disappointment at herself. “But that’s a sound idea. Both Charmeleon and Scorbunny should land their attacks once Scorbunny and Orbeetle have stunned the Skwovet. It should cause quite the powerful attack.”

“Alright,” Gloria concurred. “You heard that right, Scorbunny? We’re gonna’ be the heroes of the day!”

“Scor scor!” the Scorbunny yelped back happily in response.

Leon noticeably stiffened however, and it didn’t take long for Sonia to notice. But a smile quickly appeared on his face, promptly replacing the troubled look that was previously there.

“—Yeah, we’re gonna’ be the heroes of the day too, Charmeleon!” Leon announced.

“Charrr!” Charmeleon let out a confident roar in agreement. 

“Looks like he’s all fired up,” Sonia smiled in relief, and she took in a deep breath. “Alright, let’s get the show started, shall we, Yamper?! I’m doubling the treats you’re having today!”

“Yam yam!” Yamper barked enthusiastically, and it began to gather even more electricity by frolicking about. 

“Strike first, Sonia!” Lady shouted. “Orbeetle will follow your lead!”

“You got it!” Sonia pointed her finger at the opposing Skwovet. “Spark at full throttle, Yamper!”

“Yaaaam!” Yamper launched an array of electric sparks at the Skwovet. It attempted to run, but its big size and the obstacles around it didn’t allow for much mobility. In the end, the Skwovet is shocked once more, and the pain on its twinged-up face is even more evident than before.

“Now, Orbeetle, use Psybeam!” Lady commanded, and the Orbeetle flew to the back of the Skwovet’s head and casted a Psybeam.

The Skwovet staggered behind and hung its head down, the effects of its severe headache showing. By the time the Orbeetle’s attack was over, Charmeleon was already at the side of the Skwovet’s head. 

“Perfect timing, Charmeleon!” Leon praised his Pokemon. “Use a flamethrower at the side of its head!”

“Chaaaarrr!!” Charmeleon once again blasted out fire from its mouth, and the Skwovet reflexively moved its head out of the way to try to evade the rest of the attack. The flamethrower ended up going past the Skwovet’s head in the last few seconds of the attack, but it was enough for Scorbunny to deal the finishing blow.

Gloria reached a hand out at the direction of the Skwovet and spread her fingers out, “Now, Scorbunny! Double Kick!” 

From behind the Charmeleon, Scorbunny popped up, and performed a back-flip before it landed a second Double Kick to kick the Skwovet at the side of its head. This caused the Skwovet to stagger once again, but this time, its dizziness completely took over and it fell all the way down to the ground, destroying the trees underneath its weight.

With the Skwovet down, the red clouds around it began to dissipate, and it started to shrink back to normal. The red shimmer in the sky disappeared, and the strong wind was gone now. Gloria hurriedly rushed up to the fainted Skwovet out of worry.

“T-That might have been a bit too much, actually…” Gloria frowned as she cradled the Skwovet in her arms. “It’ll be okay, right?”

“Yeah, there haven’t been any cases of Dynamax Pokemon dying, so don’t worry,” Lady reassured as she walked up to Gloria. “We should bring it to the Pokemon Centre quickly, though.”

“Yeah.” Gloria nodded.

“You can leave it to us,” one of the trainers spoke up as he withdrew Volbeat, and the other Volbeat trainer did the same. 

“Oho, you’re starting to sound even more reliable than the gym leader herself,” Lady teased.

“Not at all, we just didn’t want to leave it to kids to take care of the aftermath of a Dynamax,” the other gym trainer added, and she gently took the Skwovet into her hand. “And you still have to research the scene for any Dynamax clues, right?”

“We’ll be on our way, then.” the other gym trainer said, and they both bowed before taking their leave. Gloria was left confused.

Gloria blinked, “Gym leader? Research?” 

“—You’ve never met her before too, then,” Sonia cut in. “Lady here is the Wedgehurst Gym Leader, as well as one of the researchers studying Dynamax. She’s currently working together with Professor Magnolia in Wedgehurst.”

“Is that so…?” Gloria put a hand on her chin. “That explains why you’re so strong. But Dynamax? And Professor Magnolia...? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before…”

“Now, now, let’s take it one at a time, shall we?” Lady suggested. “I’m Lady. It’s not my real name though. It’s nice to meet you, Gloria.”

“Not your real name?” Gloria tilted her head curiously. “Is there a reason you’re hiding your name…?”

“Oh, I’m glad you asked,” Lady fixed her glasses, which gave off a strange glint. “But unfortunately, I can’t tell you—because it won’t be a top secret mission anymore, then.”

“Don’t mind her, she’s just playing pretend that she’s some sort of top agent working for the government to discover the secrets of Bug-type Pokemon or somewhere along the lines,” Sonia explained exhaustedly.

“Sonia—! Don’t just reveal my secret like that!” Lady whined. “I had to tell Professor Magnolia about it, but if the higher-ups know that even more people are aware of it, then, then…!”

“Hey, you should really stop revealing her secret just like that. If anything happens, it’s gonna’ be on you, you know?” Leon chided his friend, and he then put a fist to his chest as he gave Lady a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Lady, your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you, Leon… You really are a good boy…” Lady wiped away her comical tears from her eyes.

“Only an idiot would fall for that…” Sonia sighed. 

“D-Don’t worry! I promise I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything then!” Gloria promised.

“It doesn’t change that you know now, though…” Lady sniffled. “But worry not, I am a strong Lady, so a repercussion or two won’t be enough to bring me down. You were also curious about Dynamax, weren’t you, Gloria girl?”

“Oh, yes. I am!” Gloria nodded enthusiastically.

“Hmm. Where shall I start then… You see, Dynamax is a phenomenon that only occurs in Galar because of the dense energy that we have in the air here.” Lady fixed her glasses once again. “It’s still unclear what exactly caused the energy influx, but we believe it’s linked to the Darkest Day somehow…”

“The Darkest Day?” Gloria asked curiously.

“Yup, it’s quite a big event that’s recorded in every history book you’ll find here,” Lady elaborated. “It was the day when a mysterious entity descended upon Galar, and Pokemon began increasing in size all over the place… Now we call that phenomenon Dynamax. The energy from that event still lingers on until today, so Galar is constantly under the threat of spontaneous Dynamax occurring every now and then. ”

“I didn’t know that at all…” Gloria claimed. “I-Isn’t it dangerous for the townsfolk then?”

“It’s become quite the norm here, actually.” Sonia chimed in once again. “But it’s thanks to the gym leaders of each part that the damage is kept at a minimum. Everyone’s just gotten accustomed to it at this point, and gym leaders are considered the protectors of the region.”

“It’s still important for each of us to grow strong enough in case things go out of hand, though,” Leon added, and there was a sad glint in his expression that caused both Sonia and Lady to frown.

“No way…” Gloria said in disbelief. “There should be a way to put a stop to this Dynamax thing though!”

“That’s why research into Dynamax is well-funded by the government,” Lady said rather proudly. “As Sonia said, I work with Professor Magnolia to uncover the secrets of Dynamax and to find a way to stop the spontaneous Dynamax from happening. It’s taking a lot of time, for sure. And I even have to balance that with being the gym leader…”

“Everyone in town respects you a lot because of that, Lady,” Leon consoled her.

“I don’t really need that sort of thing, though.” Lady huffed. “In any case, I’m off to investigate the scene. There might be something that’s worth taking back to the lab here… You three should head on home, it’s getting late.”

“Yeah—Wait, it’s that late already?!” Sonia looked at her wristwatch in shock. “Gran’s really gonna’ give me an earful… Especially after what I’ve just got myself into.”

“I’m in the same shoes, so you’re not alone,” Leon reassured her with a smile.

“Shut it! You’re the one who dragged me into all this trouble in the first place!” Sonia retorted, irritated by Leon’s airheadedness.

“Well, you did choose to follow.” Leon pointed out.

“Ugh…” Sonia crossed her arms against her chest and looked away.

“She only followed because she was worried, so I don’t think it’s really on her,” Gloria defended Sonia. “Hehe, you two sure are good friends.”

Sonia started twirling her hair, “G-Good friends is a little...”

“Yeah, I can always rely on Sonia,” Leon smiled as he put his hands on his hips and turned to look at Sonia.

“...I’d be happier to let you rely on me if you’d stop getting yourself into trouble.” Sonia sighed once again.

“She says that a lot, but she still helps me out anyway.” Leon let out a carefree laugh. 

“I can see that,” Gloria nodded, amused. “Come to think of it, I haven’t gotten your names yet… Was it Leon and Sonia?”

“Oh right, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves, have we?” Leon turned to properly face Gloria.

Without warning, Leon struck a strange pose, pointing an index finger up at the sky while looking at the ground with a confident smile. Gloria was caught off-guard by this, and could only stare cluelessly at the scene in front of her.

“—I’m Leon! My favourite Pokemon’s Charizard!” Leon introduced himself energetically. “And I’m gonna be the Champion of Galar someday!”

“C-Champion…! That’s a big goal!” Gloria pumped her fist in amazement. “With how strong your Charmeleon is, I’m sure you can get there!”

“Right? We’re gonna’ get there for sure, Charmeleon! And you’ll be the greatest Charizard the world’s ever seen!” Leon patted Charmeleon’s head with a grin.

“Char char!” Charmeleon sing-songed.

Sonia promptly cleared her throat as Leon pampered his Charmeleon, “—And I’m Sonia. I love cute Pokemon the most. I’m also aiming for the Champion seat myself.”

“Ooh, so you’re both aiming for the same thing!” Gloria clapped her hands together in delight. “That makes you both rivals and best friends then, right?”

“Yeah!” 

“—No.”

“Huh? Why not?” Leon gave Sonia an incredulous look.

“The word rival just doesn’t sit well with me, that’s all.” Sonia frowned. “It sounds too muscleheady for my liking.” 

“Hmm, I don’t get it, but I kinda get it at the same time,” Gloria nods with a clueless smile. “So you two are are trainers going for the same goal, then?”

“Yup, that’s the better way to put it!” Sonia nods with a smile. “I’ll show the power idiots that it’s brains and cuteness over raw strength!”

“I don’t see what’s so wrong with the word ‘rival’ though...” Leon commented, appearing rather confused.

“I’m supporting the both of you, then!” Gloria beamed.

“—You don’t want to be a Champion too?” Leon was surprised.

“I’m still not sure what I want to do yet,” Gloria shook her head. “Pokemon researcher… Pokemon connoisseur… Pokemon coordinator… There are lots of things to choose from that it makes my head go all dizzy!”

“Yeah, that is true…” Sonia nodded with a sheepish smile. 

“—But one thing I’m sure of is that I want to do something that brings smiles to people’s faces!”

“...Smiles, huh?” Leon smiled.“That isn’t a bad thing at all.”

“That sure sounds like a nice dream!” Sonia complimented. “...I’ll have to admit I’m still a little lost too myself. But being the Champion sounds pretty nice now. What girl wouldn’t want to be champion after seeing how graceful the current champion Cecily is in battle?”

“Oh, I haven’t actually seen the Champion of this region yet,” Gloria mused in realization.

“Yeah, she recently dethroned the previous Champion. This is her second year as Champion.” Leon elaborated.

“You ought to see one of her matches someday! It might even put you on the same track as me to become the next graceful Champion!” Sonia suggested.

“I’m interested in what makes this new champion so great, so I’ll probably look it up when I get back.” Gloria claimed, her spirits still as high ever.

“Ah! We talked so much I forgot the time!” Sonia covered her mouth in disbelief. “Which direction are you going in, Gloria? We could stick together until there.”

“Oh, I live down in Wedgehurst.” Gloria replied.

“Oooh, I live close to there too!” Sonia said. “Leon here lives in Postwick, so he’ll have to pass Wedgehurst. I’ll have to step out on the way mysel—oh, wait.”

“That’s convenient for the three of us then.” Leon put a hand on both his hips.

“No way am I leaving you alone with someone who doesn’t know you well—you’re just gonna’ bring them down the wrong road again.” Sonia shook her head. “I’ll bring you both back to your places, so guess you’re stuck with me the whole journey.”

“Ahaha, that’s true, I forgot I suck with directions,” Leon laughed. “Looks like I have to depend on you again, Sonia.”

“You sure depend on her a lot,” Gloria commented. “It doesn’t seem like Sonia is unhappy about it either, though.”

“Excuse you, I am!” Sonia pouted. “Who enjoys handling a musclehead like this all the time?”

“Come to think of it, I’ve been thinking, but have you been praising me all this time when you call me that?” Leon asked innocently. “If I’m muscleheaded, doesn’t that mean my brain is pretty muscly? It sounds like you’re insulting me, but you’re just calling me smart then, right?”

“THAT’S NOT IT AT ALL!!!” Sonia yelled.

“You two sure do get along well.” Gloria smiled warmly. 

Not without a little more bickering, the three of them finally began their descent down the forest road back to town. Lady couldn’t help but watch them with mild interest before once more returning to her investigation.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to tell me what you thought about the chapter in a comment. any suggestions are also welcome!


End file.
